Body Shots On Elephant (Does Caliber Really Matter?)

[Major Khan]

I have no personal experience with killing an elephant unfortunately ( though l have shot and injured 1 , but more on that later ) , because they were a protected species in India even during our time . However , l have accompanied forest department officers on numerous occasions when they had to shoot rogue elephants . I have personally seen 10 elephants shot before my very eyes by forest department officers and l have aided in the butchering process . I have also seen tribal poachers poach elephants in India multiple times . Therefore , l hope this information proves useful :

In India , forest department officers assigned to deal with rogue elephants were issued sporterized Lee Enfield bolt rifles , chambered in .303 British , using a 215 grain solid metal covered round nose bullet ( most of it were old stocks of ICI Kynoch sporting ammunition . )

The forest department officers would typically use their .303 calibre rifles for side brain shots on rogue elephants ; their point of aim being the ear hole . MOST of the time , it worked smoothly . However , there were times when the angling was wrong and the bullet did not find the brute's brain . For the frontal brain shot on a 6 ton bull elephant , the .303 calibre was not reliable .
On 1 occasion , the forest department officer whom l was accompanying , aimed his .303 calibre rifle at a rogue bull elephant's ear hole. However , when he fired , the angling must have been wrong , because the elephant turned to charge us . My companion then took the frontal brain shot , but it failed to stop the charging elephant. What l did next was not my proudest moment . But self preservation is a man's 1st duty.
I took aim with my Belgian shot gun , which was loaded with a spherical ball cartridge ( which l had hand loaded myself , using a 1 ounce spherical ball of hardened lead and an Eley Alphamax 3 inch High Brass cartridge case ) and fired at the charging elephant's fore leg ( my point of aim being the knee ) . For those of you gentlemen who have ever shot elephants , then you will know that an elephant ( on account of it's massive weight . ) cannot stand on 3 legs .
True enough , the elephant's leg bone cracked and it fell on the ground . My companion then carefully got around the elephant , taking care to avoid the immobilized creature's trunk and then dispatched it with a proper side brain shot , using his .303 calibre rifle . It was a hair raising experience , it was. I have been charged by all of the Indian " Dangerous 7 " in my career . However , in the case of an elephant , the sheer size of your charging adversary is flat out terrifying. I will related this story on African Hunting forums next week.

My former client , Mr. Tom Bolack ( former Governor of New Mexico ) told me that he killed an elephant in Rhodesia in the 1950s by using a .30-06 calibre rebarrelled Mauser Oberndorf bolt rifle and 220 grain Winchester solid metal covered bullets . He used a side brain shot . 1 of my close friends , who used to be a forest department officer actually wrote an article about how to shoot rogue Indian elephants, in order to educate novice forest department officers . It is in Hindi . However , l will eventually get around to providing a translation in English on these forums ( or l can just introduce him to these forums )
. He States that the .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre 300 grain solid metal covered bullet is capable of reliably killing even the largest bull elephant , provided the side brain shot be used. However , for frontal brain shots he is not confident that a .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre 300 grain solid bullet is always adequate ( Bear in mind that when he wrote this article , it was 1969 and the only solid bullets which we had in those days , were solid metal covered bullets and not monolithic bullets . A modern monolithic .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre 300 grain bullet might probably be reliable enough for a frontal brain shot on an elephant. )

For body shots on elephants ( the subject of your post ) , it must be borne in mind that the point of aim will either be directed at the heart or the lungs ( both lungs ) . When trying to take an elephant's heart out from broadside position , it must be remembered that the bullet needs to be able to pierce the upper fore leg bone of the animal and still hold together to be able to reach the elephant's heart . Thus , a sufficiently large calibre should be used ( solid bullets only , preferably monolithic ) . When trying to opt for the double lung shot on an elephant , you should also use a sufficiently large calibre , so that it can punch a greater hole in both the lungs of the elephant .

I have a book titled " Ballistics In Perspective " write by an African elephant culler in the 1980s , named Mr. LaGrange , who shot a 4 figure sum of elephants in Zimbabwe . His book advises that the ideal calibre for use on elephants for both body shots and brain shots should always be a bare minimum of .450 Bore and preferably .500 Bore , using a bullet weighing no less than 500 grains.

I hope that my limited input on this subject has proven useful .

 

[BRICKBURN]

Can be done but it is a very bad idea. TSX is overrated.
...........
Many rave over TSX, great, use them but for what they were intended for and that is certainly not hunting elephant....no matter the caliber.

I would think they could actually be more effective if you picked your shot; broadside or quartering away heart shot. Certainly in the .40 calibers.
I would agree that expanding bullets are not optimal for Elephant because they can not address every potential shot presentation.
Elephants have been successfully hunted with a Bow. Bow's are certainly not stopping equipment.

 

[AZDAVE]

@TOBY458 they make sand paper and oil finish, take your Heym and wries us a good report

Reading this post with interest and to gain some knowledge for future possibilities.

 

[Tanks]

I would think a 400g Barnes TSX in a 404 Jeffery would quite effective on a broadside heart lung shot. Never hunted ele, just a thought.

TSX would not have the penetration for any other shot. Here are two 500 grain bullets recovered, one from a charging elephant at 15 meters (brain shot) the other from the shot I mentioned earlier. No deformation.

 

[Hank2211]

I would think they could actually be more effective if you picked your shot; broadside or quartering away heart shot. Certainly in the .40 calibers.
I would agree that expanding bullets are not optimal for Elephant because they can not address every potential shot presentation.
Elephants have been successfully hunted with a Bow. Bow's are certainly not stopping equipment.

As many have pointed out before me, Karamojo Bell took a great number of elephant with a .275 Rigby, but no responsible PH would let you try that today.

I'm a lover of the Barnes TTSX, but I agree that it wasn't designed for deep penetration on thick skinned game with massive bone structures. My worry is that the bullet would expand and not make it where it needs to go. The challenge with any animal is that ethically, you need to use enough power to ensure a clean kill in all the relevant scenarios which may present themselves. So if, for example, your first shot goes wrong, and the elephant is running away, can you break the spine or a hop joint as it disappears away from you? If your bullet was only good for the first shot, then I'd suggest you took a shot you shouldn't have. Lots of plains game take more than one shot (buffalo certainly come to mind, but so do others) and unless you get the brain on the first try, an elephant will almost certainly require another shot. I recall the advice of my PH when we began our elephant hunt. "Once you decide to shoot, keep on shooting until it's down."

I agree with @Major Khan - solids all the way on elephant.

You do make a good point about shooting elephant with a bow but I expect those that try this may well have a backup with a big rifle, and in any event will only take a very particular shot - certainly not a brain shot?

 

[Major Khan]

As many have pointed out before me, Karamojo Bell took a great number of elephant with a .275 Rigby, but no responsible PH would let you try that today.

I'm a lover of the Barnes TTSX, but I agree that it wasn't designed for deep penetration on thick skinned game with massive bone structures. My worry is that the bullet would expand and not make it where it needs to go. The challenge with any animal is that ethically, you need to use enough power to ensure a clean kill in all the relevant scenarios which may present themselves. So if, for example, your first shot goes wrong, and the elephant is running away, can you break the spine or a hop joint as it disappears away from you? If your bullet was only good for the first shot, then I'd suggest you took a shot you shouldn't have. Lots of plains game take more than one shot (buffalo certainly come to mind, but so do others) and unless you get the brain on the first try, an elephant will almost certainly require another shot. I recall the advice of my PH when we began our elephant hunt. "Once you decide to shoot, keep on shooting until it's down."

I agree with @Major Khan - solids all the way on elephant.

You do make a good point about shooting elephant with a bow but I expect those that try this may well have a backup with a big rifle, and in any event will only take a very particular shot - certainly not a brain shot?

Why thank you , Hank . I typically shy away from offering any insight on elephant since l never had the privilege to kill 1 in my career ( despite seeing them getting killed on multiple occasions and crippling 1 ) . However , l am tempted to go after a tuskless cow elephant in South Africa some time in the next 3 years. Right now , l still cannot choose between a tuskless cow elephant or an African lion and decide which 1 l would like to hunt more on my safari .

 

[Hank2211]

Why thank you , Hank . I typically shy away from offering any insight on elephant since l never had the privilege to kill 1 in my career ( despite seeing them getting killed on multiple occasions and crippling 1 ) . However , l am tempted to go after a tuskless cow elephant in South Africa some time in the next 3 years. Right now , l still cannot choose between a tuskless cow elephant or an African lion and decide which 1 l would like to hunt more on my safari .

Why you're more than welcome Major!

If I might offer a suggestion, I think Zimbabwe might be the best place to hunt tuskless elephant, and it's certainly the cheapest, based on my limited research. I shot my elephant (55lbs a side) in Matetsi, Unit 2 in Zimbabwe, not 300 meters from the border with Botswana. It was not lost on me that that same elephant would have cost me more than double in Bots - and I think the premium is even higher today. As for lion, well, certainly it's iconic, but baited hunts are always less exciting for me than tracking hunts.

Good luck with your choice!

 

[Mort Hill]

I can only speak to the bull I shot. I think every shot gains you exponential “experience” for the next time, so I will just share the facts of my hunt.

We spotted the bull on the side of a hill in burned off Mopane in the Selous in Tanzania. With the wind right, if he knew I was there, he showed no concern. We closed to the last slight rise between he and our party, about 40 yds. There was nothing left between us but a swell of burnt land. Not a bush in sight. I set up on the sticks with the elephant bull broadside. I was shooting my .416 Rigby CZ with a 400gr soft, followed by two solids.

The bull had pushed over a tree and was stripping the bark off the roots. As his head was moving slightly up and down as he tusked the tree and then peeled the bark with his trunk, and also due to the 40 or so yards distance, I told the PH I was taking a heart shot. The shot was on the mark and the bull turned to run down hill heading towards me. I racked in the solid and took the frontal brain shot and he collapsed like cheap beach chair. The frontal brain shot was just left of and above his right eye. After the meat recovery, we found the heart with a huge chunk ravaged out of the left side where the soft had hit the mark. I was much more ecstatic about the follow up brain shot than the heart shot as I had my doubts that I could pull it off on a moving target. But having anchored with the soft first, I am sure he was not moving near as fast as I thought he was, and I certainly did not get the back flips and volumous praise from the PH I expected. Just the professional handshake and “good shot”.

That said, I think you have to take what is offered, and just be prepared for the shot that is presented. I was prepared and had practiced for the frontal and side brain, but as has been mentioned before, the elephant heart is large and its location pretty well defined if you study their anatomy. Just my 2 cents.

 

[IvW]

I would think they could actually be more effective if you picked your shot; broadside or quartering away heart shot. Certainly in the .40 calibers.

Correct however as mentioned no guarantee of shot presentation.

If you stalk in and the elephant swings to face the hunter before you can shoot and the ele charges the PH will be shooting your elephant.

Elephants have been successfully hunted with a Bow. Bow's are certainly not stopping equipment.

And with .22LR and 6.5mm and 7mm which does not make them adequate or ethical to use....many many elephant bow hunts have ended in disaster and unnecessary suffering to the elephant. And yes elephant have also been lost shot with big bores.

When hunting elephant I am of the opinion that only adequate equipment be used that will greatly increase the potential to kill cleanly...

 

[Major Khan]

Correct however as mentioned no guarantee of shot presentation.

If you stalk in and the elephant swings to face the hunter before you can shoot and the ele charges the PH will be shooting your elephant.



And with .22LR and 6.5mm and 7mm which does not make them adequate or ethical to use....many many elephant bow hunts have ended in disaster and unnecessary suffering to the elephant. And yes elephant have also been lost shot with big bores.

When hunting elephant I am of the opinion that only adequate equipment be used that will greatly increase the potential to kill cleanly...

I have a small question , IvW. In Africa , has the solid metal covered bullet completely been replaced by the monolithic bullet for elephant now ? Or is the traditional solid metal covered bullet still used for some calibres ?

 

[Pondoro]

Major..my impression is that both types are still used but more and more hunters, PH´s and visiting hunters (I hate the word client..) use more or less flat-tipped monos such as these banded Barnes..

That said, traditional steel jackets as Woodleigh are used both in bolt and double rifles (at least in the old ones). The Woodleigh is very good but monos are better...the flat tipped ones do not diverge in the animal as the round nose traditional steel jackets occationally do...my two cents..

Eager to hear lvW´s opinion on this..

 

[grand veneur]

@Major Khan

I don't want to get ahead @IvW , he has more experience than me.

The discussion FMJ bullets vs Monolithic bullets continues. It is certain that the monolithic bullets are superior to the old relatively thin jacketed FMJ bullets , but IMHO the modern thick-walled FMJ bullets are still usable nowadays. I removed some undeformed 535gr FMJ bullets caliber .510 from elephants.

 

[Major Khan]

Major..my impression is that both types are still used but more and more hunters, PH´s and visiting hunters (I hate the word client..) use more or less flat-tipped monos such as these banded Barnes..

View attachment 327815

That said, traditional steel jackets as Woodleigh are used both in bolt and double rifles (at least in the old ones). The Woodleigh is very good but monos are better...the flat tipped ones do not diverge in the animal as the round nose traditional steel jackets occationally do...my two cents..

Eager to hear lvW´s opinion on this..

Why thank you , Pondoro. Are the Barnes Banded Solids for your Krieghoff Double barrelled .470 Nitro Express calibre rifle ?
I cannot imagine that they are for your vintage .470 Nitro Express calibre rifle .
I understand that you also used traditional Hornady solid metal covered 500 grain bullets in your .458 Winchester magnum calibre rifle on elephants with success ?

 

[Major Khan]

@Major Khan

I don't want to get ahead @IvW , he has more experience than me.

The discussion FMJ bullets vs Monolithic bullets continues. It is certain that the monolithic bullets are superior to the old relatively thin jacketed FMJ bullets , but IMHO the modern thick-walled FMJ bullets are still usable nowadays. I removed some undeformed 535gr FMJ bullets caliber .510 from elephants.

Your observations mirror my own , Kurpfalzjager. Back in the 1960s , l used to see Hornady solid metal covered bullets in .458 Winchester magnum calibre being used by many of my clients . These had extremely strong steel " jackets " and would not distort even after going through the fore leg bones of a 2000 pound gaur. Granted ; elephants and gaurs are 2 very different things . However , l did find this interesting little chart in the book " Ballistics In Perspective " . It would appear that the .470 Nitro Express was used on the largest bull elephants. I am also assuming that the 7 " .458 Hornady 500 grain FMJ " bullets ( loaded by A Square) which faced severe distortion must have been fired at the largest bull elephants.

 

[grand veneur]

No matter whether FMJ or monolithic , I think we all agree that an elephant has to be shot with such bullets and not with an SP bullet.

When it comes to the body shots , we are back to the initial question. You need a big bore , the lack of expansion of the bullet must be compensated with a larger caliber.

 

[IvW]

I have a small question , IvW. In Africa , has the solid metal covered bullet completely been replaced by the monolithic bullet for elephant now ? Or is the traditional solid metal covered bullet still used for some calibres ?

For the ones in the know and who have actually bothered to test the difference in the field yes.

Of course some will still use the FMJ type solids, some others have no option as that is all they have availability of. Once you have seen the difference in straight line penetration and greater damage done by meplat solids or hydros you will never again use FMJ solids on elephant.

You want to go with a 30% slight or severe distortion of a bullet in this time and age, go ahead, I will prefer 100% reliable performance from my Brass Meplat solids with un presidented straight line penetration and leave the old technology 70% no issue performing FMJ's to whoever chooses to use them on elephant. Gives me more opportunity to join in when I need not to if the hunter used top quality Solid brass new generation solids. Same
goes for the 458 WM....

Your choice, on DG I use the best field tested I can get and that is not old style FMJ solids on elephant........

 

[Major Khan]

For the ones in the know and who have actually bothered to test the difference in the field yes.

Of course some will still use the FMJ type solids, some others have no option as that is all they have availability of. Once you have seen the difference in straight line penetration and greater damage done by meplat solids or hydros you will never again use FMJ solids on elephant.

You want to go with a 30% slight or severe distortion of a bullet in this time and age, go ahead, I will prefer 100% reliable performance from my Brass Meplat solids with un presidented straight line penetration and leave the old technology 70% no issue performing FMJ's to whoever chooses to use them on elephant. Gives me more opportunity to join in when I need not to if the hunter used top quality Solid brass new generation solids. Same
goes for the 458 WM....

Your choice, on DG I use the best field tested I can get and that is not old style FMJ solids on elephant........

Thank you so much for you explanation , IvW. Much like yourself , l dislike the .458 Winchester magnum calibre myself. To me , a cartridge case which has 0.5 inches less powder space than a .375 Holland & Holland magnum cartridge case , but fires a bullet at least 200 grains heavier than the .375 is conceptually wrong . Sadly , during my career in the 1960s , it was the only commercially available calibre bigger than .375 which was around.

 

[IvW]

Thank you so much for you explanation , IvW. Much like yourself , l dislike the .458 Winchester magnum calibre myself. To me , a cartridge case which has 0.5 inches less powder space than a .375 Holland & Holland magnum cartridge case , but fires a bullet at least 200 grains heavier than the .375 is conceptually wrong . Sadly , during my career in the 1960s , it was the only commercially available calibre bigger than .375 which was around.

Quite true.

In this day and age why use a cartridge which could not and still cannot produce what it was designed to do.

Further more(my personal opinion), straight wall cartridges, belts and high pressure are non desirable for a DG cartridge and more so for a PH and in a Backup situation...than for a visiting hunter.

I use a 500 Jeff, the best bolt action caliber for back up unless someone can prove me wrong.....

I will never use or recommend a 458 WM for own use or for a PH back up rifle unless of course they do not hunt DG on a regular bases....

 

[Frederik]

Ivor, I know that 458 win got a very bad rap years ago but with the powders of today and proper bullets a 458 win loaded with a 480gr bullet instead of 500gr does wonders.
500 Jeff is a beast and defintely falls in the get you out of Sh#t factor with its energy.

Richard Harland shot quite a number of elephants with his 458 win mag and he does note of a few times when culling that he got a bad batch of ammo but otherwise he is still alive and writing of his adventures. I cant remember if you were at the BASA shoot at magnum range back in 2006/2007 when he came to visit. I had a nice chat with him when I was busy doing the BASA promo video a gentleman in every way with his feet on the ground.

With the topic I have not yet shot my own elephant but the few expereinces I had some guiding and some behind the camera a body shot is very effective. The vital area and heart is huge and normally after the first shot the elephant just stands there for half a second or so before he departs. Giving you time with a double or when you know the action to get a quick second shot in and then keep firing untill he is out of sight or down.

In 2009 we did a elephant hunt in Mabula it was a management hunt and young male elephants was the target to keep their allowed numbers in check. Rifle used 416 Hoffman with Hornady DGS 400gr shot was perfect broke opposite shoulder and young bull fell on the spot. Matriach was not very happy and we had to keep extremely quiet and still and then took off while she was not looking. This was the only time I saw an elephant drop on the spot with a body shot was very neat.

 

[michael458]

For the ones in the know and who have actually bothered to test the difference in the field yes.

Of course some will still use the FMJ type solids, some others have no option as that is all they have availability of. Once you have seen the difference in straight line penetration and greater damage done by meplat solids or hydros you will never again use FMJ solids on elephant.

You want to go with a 30% slight or severe distortion of a bullet in this time and age, go ahead, I will prefer 100% reliable performance from my Brass Meplat solids with un presidented straight line penetration and leave the old technology 70% no issue performing FMJ's to whoever chooses to use them on elephant. Gives me more opportunity to join in when I need not to if the hunter used top quality Solid brass new generation solids. Same
goes for the 458 WM....

Your choice, on DG I use the best field tested I can get and that is not old style FMJ solids on elephant........

IvW..... You are a very smart individual and almost have it down 100% correct. The only thing I would change in your description is from just FMJ, to any Round Nose Solid Projectile.

Let me present to the group a little bit about Terminal Ballistics for Solids, but first You would never use anything but a Solid for Elephant, there are way too many variables involved to consider ANY sort of trauma inflicting bullet, or any soft point. Solids, or nothing at all. Yes, Caliber is important, 458+ hits elephant far harder than anything less than .458. Leave your 375 rat guns at home, and or make sure your PH has a proper caliber with him to back you up.

There are 8 Factors of Terminal Penetration for Solids and they are in this order of importance;

#1 Meplat Percentage of Caliber

Meplats that attain 65% Meplat of Caliber are terminally stable.... Above 70% Meplat bullets remain stable, however depth of penetration begins to decrease with every step up in meplat size. 70% Meplat or larger does increase trauma to, and destruction of tissue. 70% Meplats start to get difficult to feed, even in Winchester M70s...... From 65% Meplat to 68% Meplat is OPTIMUM for Stability, destruction of tissues, and feed and function in most quality rifles..........


#2 Nose Profile

There are many and varied Nose Profiles of solids on the market today, from the angled Nose Profiles of CEB and North Fork, to the straight nose profile of the older North Forks and GSC, the Barnes/Hornady Profiles (like a RN cut off at the top) to many more... Not all of these are created equal, and some are better performers than others. In recent tests in comparison between the old North Fork Profiles and the Newer North Fork Profiles I was getting 20% deeper penetration with the Newer North Forks than the older, with the same bullet, just difference in Nose Profile is all.... John at North Fork agrees, and in their work there they were getting more along the lines of 25% deeper penetration. One major thing that I noticed here, the stability at the end of penetration was 100% better. In most all tests here the last 2 inches of penetration of the old style North Forks would be unstable. Now this is and was of no consequence at the very end of penetration. The depth of penetration of these older nose profile bullets was always so deep that it had long accomplished its mission before loss of stability right at the very end. This new NOSE PROFILE of North Forks remains DEAD STRAIGHT to the very last of penetration, and always found NOSE FORWARD........

#3 Construction & Material

Construction of a solid is a major part of its ability to penetrate. To deny this is foolish to say the least. Some of our solids out there, lead core, are very very weak in construction and absolutely do not have the ability to bust through heavy bone and reach their intended targets. I have seen and have in hand failures of these bullets from the field..... A shame as well, as some of these bullets are promoted as Dangerous Game Solids, and some of them flatten out like pancakes when hitting heavy dense material. Some FMJ Have steel inserts, while this solves a problem in one area, it creates problems in other areas.... Brass is harder than Copper... No surprise there, but I have busted elephant heads with both copper and brass, and never had one distort, but, these solids were of a very STRONG NOSE PROFILE as well........ So you see, combinations of different factors work together to strengthen or weaken other factors..... A good strong Nose Profile, can overcome some material deficiencies and in the case of copper solids this is extremely important.

#4 Nose Projection

Nose Projection above the top bands was the last factor discovered. There may be more factors, but currently they remain undiscovered at this point in time.... We found that nose projection above the top of the bands of current CNC monolithic bullets is very important to depth of penetration. Some bullets designed to work through lever actin riflers require a SHORT NOSE PROJECTION in front of the bands so that they can be loaded deep enough to work through the actions of these guns... Nose Projection of these same bullets for bolt guns, single shots, and double rifles are longer, from .600 to .700 in front of the top band. The LONGER NOSE PROJECTION solids will penetrate on average 25% deeper than the shorter nose projection. Now, these bullets already have all the other required factors for stability, nose profile, construction and radius, so it is ONLY DEPTH Of penetration that is effected with properly designed bullets.



#5 Radius Edge of Meplat

We found that the radius edge of the meplat made a difference, small, but a difference none the less. A nicely radius edge penetrates about 5% deeper, and has more stability at the end than a sharp edged radius.... No more to go into here, thats it.......


All the Above Factors Deal with Bullet Design........

#6 Velocity

Velocity is a factor, but it also goes hand in hand with Nose Profile and Construction/Material. If we assume that the Meplat is optimum, the nose projection is optimum, and the bullet has a nice radius then velocity becomes a factor in combination with nose profile and construction/materials. Different Nose Profiles react differently with velocity. Some nose profiles at very low velocity cannot maintain stability, but this would be in the extreme, and other factors may come into play with some of this. In essence with some Nose Profiles, added velocity will equate to added depth of penetration, and of course trauma and destruction of tissue. Some nose profiles react better than others, but if properly designed, then all will get some gain from added velocity, UNTIL you reach the point that you get distortion of the meplat by TOO MUCH VELOCITY. Once you begin to distort that meplat, then all sorts of strange things begin to occur. One is depth of penetration will decrease, stability will decrease as well....... Normally you will only get this at extreme velocities at 2700-2800 fps or more, which in our big bore rifles is somewhat extreme.......... Lead core bullets will be effected in a serious manner at extreme velocities, followed by copper, and then brass........ Nose Profile and Construction & Material are very important for Factor #6.........


#7 Barrel Twist Rate

Barrel twist rate really only becomes a factor when Factor #1 is DEFICIENT....... If the meplat of caliber is undersized, less than 65%, then faster twist rates WILL INCREASE the depth of penetration by increasing the stability of terminal penetration. A 65% Meplat of Caliber can stabilize in slower twist rates of 1:18, or even slower...... I have seen 65% Meplat of Caliber stabilize with ZERO TWIST....... I have seen 50% Meplat of Caliber stability increase with faster twist rates, and have documentation to prove it, several times...... If you are using a properly designed Solid, then twist rate becomes less important, and more important if you are not using a proper designed solid. Fast Twist Rates can also increase stability of even RN Solids of decent design, hardly anything can increase stability of a more pointy RN FMJ.......



#8 Sectional Density

Sectional Density will ONLY BE A FACTOR with two bullets that are exactly the same in every other Factor or aspect. Factors #1 and #2 far outweigh Sectional Density in the terminal performance of Solids. We can take a properly designed 458 caliber 325 gr Solid and far out penetrate in depth and stability a poorly designed 550 gr 458 caliber bullet....... My son recently shot a medium sized elephant at 10 yards, perfectly executed side brain shot, with a 350 gr .474 caliber properly designed solid at 2200 fps. This bullet exited the head on the far side and still may be going for all I know. A 350 gr .474 caliber bullet has a sectional density of .223, and I personally would choose this little 350 gr bullet over the Woodleigh 500 gr RN FMJ at .4725 (ones I have here) any and every day for any mission............




These are undeniable facts, and can be proven over and over and over again in all test work, and these factors have been exercised in the field and have proven themselves in the field, many many times over...... These are the 8 Known Factors of Terminal Penetration of Solid Bullets.................